Mary

£15 and £17

18 hours ago, capybara said:

I'd like to just enjoy this moment in time, where there are some extraordinary artists at the top of the RB, without 'creating' rivalries or delving into the past.

 

I find the presence (among others) of Hayward, Kaneko, Naghdi, O'Sullivan and Takada and that of Ball, Bracewell, Clarke, Corrales, Muntagirov and Sambe incredibly exciting and I can't get enough of all of them.

I would add McRae and Lamb.

But thanks for a timely reminder that amidst an awful lot of moaning (some of it mine) we are living in a Golden Age of ballet in this country at the moment and not just at RB! (Brandon Lawrence springs to mind) and all the live screenings too.....

On 16/06/2017 at 11:34, FLOSS said:

 Britten has not played much of a part in the ROH's active repertory during Sir Tony's tenure apart from that appalling village hall production of Gloriana during the centennial year. There is a lot of serious repertory that has not been seen on the Covent Garden stage for years.

 

 

Good to have some Britten next year at least- (isn't he the greatest national composer and one of the most important of the 20th C,  or is he out of fashion?) but, just planning my booking for next season, are there really only 4 performances of Billy Budd?? ( plus one just for students.)

I've just had an email from ROH about a cinema season they are running in the Linbury in December-January, to mark 10 years of live screenings. It does seem like a good idea in some ways- on the other hand I am not going to travel to London just for a film screening- and on the whole, after all the expense and upheaval, would prefer  the theatre to be used for live performance.

On the other hand- if you were around, and had the time it would be very nice to go to some of these- not sure how big the screen will be.

Some of the showings are apparently 'family-friendly' matinees with children going free- so that could be great for some -others will want to avoid!

You would think so....This is the third member of staff on three different occasions who has told me this so there must be some basis for it.

I too wandered around chatting to staff yesterday , and very charming and nice they all were. A young man was sitting in the ground floor coffee bar, all alone with some of these teeny weeny new leaflets ( they have no casting but are quite a handy little guide to keep in a purse and have some beautiful photos too). I asked him if he was the new Box Office but he said 'They' were still undecided where to put it- they thought it might be too noisy in the coffee bar- and that the small cosy area of the temporary shop was better 'as people like to discuss their booking and seats with someone in a quieter atmosphere'. I agreed they sometimes did and it would be nice to have the full box office back.

Noone checked my ticket anywhere all evening- a first for me and a bit odd. This  might account for what happened later though.

When we really needed some staff there was noone around- in the amphi, as the conductor was coming out someone was stumbling up and down the stairs shining a phone as a torch-we could see there were no seats left nearby- she sat down for a bit on a step! then went away, then came back when the orchestra were playing,...no sign of an usher. Then in the pause between scenes- orchestra playing- an usher brought her down again, and she squeezed along the entire row most of whom had to gather their things and stand up, with much treading on toes and muttering- - to end up far away at a seat she should have accessed by another door- with a not very happy audience much disrupted. I don't think they should have brought her in until after the interval...but then the right door would have made it  a bit less of a pain!

Really enjoyed a very different performance tonight-different to the first night- but the corps were the same heavenly vision- bravo to them. Takada and Naghdi such elegant dancers, even if I felt their performances were still -as of course they must be -works in progress compared to the really incomparable Osipova/Nunez pairing- and McRae a much sadder, more reflective Solor than I expected:  he seems to have matured greatly as a dancer this season and I loved his portrayal, not to mention those amazing jumps.

Some people ( from what I overheard)  including my companion, new to Bayadere, were confused by what was going on- it strikes me that giving Nikiya 3 different costumes in Act 1 in 3 different colours really didn't help ('who are all these women?')

Just picked up tbe teeniest season guide... about 2x1.5 inches...must be paper saving...

Sorry, that has 0 to do with Mayerling- the Mayerling music is wonderful I do so agree - we owe a great deal to John Lanchbery.

Bayadere is not, for me, the most memorable or striking score but that wretched Bronze Idol music goes round and round and round- wish it wouldn't!

I had to ask for a cast sheet in Mayerling the night Bratfisch changed- and as the usher fished under her desk for one she said 'It's not an important one'.  I demurred, and explained why it was important, and said it mattered to have the full cast recorded in writing.

It makes me wonder- if Osipova had been replaced would they have had plenty of sheets available? Is there some judgement going on about what 'matters'? Certainly the 3 Shades are significant roles.

This is worrying- I am all for saving paper but I have no doubt they waste plenty of it on much less important things than notifiying the audience of the cast.

Thanks capybara. I would love to see Lamb's Nikiya but not sure I can manage to 'squeeze in' any more performances alas, no matter how hard I squeeze my bank account, so thank you.

I don't think you are being hard- if the forum is just praise it becomes a bit pointless. 

I have often enjoyed Calvert's performances in many ways, especially her lovely use of eyes, expression and her grace and charm,  but was slightly surprised by this casting as this role really is  very challenging technically. Perhaps Hirano is under par or was having an off day. If so I wish him back to full form soon.

Looking forward to the McRae/Takada/ Naghdi cast by all accounts then.  But what about the Hirano/Lamb/ Calvert one?

(hope that's right)

Who danced the bronze idol in these two performances, and how did they compare to first night- when I thought Alexander Campbell was super-?

Any more comments on today's shows??

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

In the hands of a strong male lead, La Bayadere is about Solor's journey. Alas, that wasn't the case at this afternoon's seriously underpowered showing.

That's a shame.

As well as charisma, whatever that may be, there is 'dancing well' which is a bit less subjective- isn't it? I think so. Or not?

In that sense opening night was just so consistent throughout the company- no weak links.

Yes- people are bound to have different ideas about charisma.  Fair enough. Also about the personalities and style of different dancers, and my own preferences are often minority ones.  Similarly, The Times felt that Bintley's 'The King Dances' was very bad and a downer- I disagree, but it's an opinion....

I think there is a bit of a difference between these cases, and an overall rating.

Because if someone who enjoys classical ballet gets off a plane and wants to know- is there any really good ballet on in London? and sees the 3 stars review for Bayadere and thinks 'Hmm, maybe not'- they will have been misled. Luckily there are other reviews!

Sure- but I don't think rights really comes in to it here.....surely noone is trying to stop anyone expressing a view...just disagreeing strongly. I hope that's all right.

We all know there is inevitable subjectivity around our art form, but there is also a level of reasonable judgement of quality, based on having seen very many perfomances.

In my view,  to only give 3 stars to that performance shows a great error of judgement. I would ask myself- is this a critic whose judgement I would trust again? Answer: no.

Well I can only say that anyone who saw that Bayadere first night and proposes to deduct stars because of Muntagirov's performance has my sympathy......

I've been pondering the somewhat odd pairing of Andrew Lloyd Webber with McGregor..not exactly a combination that would ever have occured to me- in fact the phrase 'uneasy bedfellows' comes to mind....Or is it just me?

I think we've discussed on the forum before the strange phenomenon, when a performance is so perfect you almost do not want to see it again- but just to retain that mental image. I feel like that about last night.

However, the idea of it all again close up - possibly twice with an encore showing- is too good to resist.

And I have several of Muntagirov's solos stored in my brain, which I think might still be there when I'm 101 and an awful lot else has fallen by the way side..I hope so.

I am not sure any cast can be better than what we saw- but they will have their own intrinsic beauties, and the corps are so good at the moment- the way the whole company are working together -so worth seeing other casts just for that.

'Come back soon'...........

Muntagirov was simply sublime ballet heaven. Poised. Precise. Strong. High. Breathtaking. Commanding presence. But also sweetly yearning . Just perfect and divine chemistry with Nunez on top form...hard to write much on phone but get a ticket!

Muntagirov!!!!!!!

Might be worth getting the book cheap or second-hand: because there are some very nice photos of Johnny Cope in it!